This invention relates to a casket bed.
It has been customary to make a casket bed from a narrow (about 17 inches wide") metal frame. Within the metal frame is a body support consisting of either a wire fabric mesh or three to five metal bands which are about 3/4 inch wide, the bands being stretched longitudinally across the frame. In both instances of the wire fabric mesh or the metal bands, 4 coil springs at one or both ends of the frame maintain the mesh or metal bands in a taut condition.
The disadvantages of the current casket beds are several.
One disadvantage is the noise that is produced by the metal members moving with respect to one another when the casket is transported from place to place. This is particularly objectionable when the noise intrudes on that part of a funeral service wherein the casket is removed from the place where the service is held.
Another disadvantage is the cost of manufacture arising out of the cost of the metal wire mesh fabric or bands, and the labor cost of assembly.
Still another disadvantage arises out of the need to modify the bed in order to accommodate bodies that have become modified due to advanced age or extended rest in a fetal position or the like. In such instances, the body support must be partly cut away in order to better position a body on the bed.